These 5 Teams Are Reportedly Interested in J.D. Martinez

The Tigers are still under .500 this season and if their window to win a World Series isn't fully closed it's barely open large enough to let a draft roll through.

With that in mind there are a few Tigers on expiring or club-option deals that might be intriguing to other teams looking to go on a World Series run. And the biggest name out of that group is J.D. Martinez.

Martinez, 29, is in the middle of a fantastic season in an ugly year for Detroit (currently 42-49). Martinez is hitting .305 with 16 home runs and 39 RBIs. When you remember that Martinez has only played in 57 of the Tigers' 90+ games this season those numbers are even more impressive.

Obviously he has potential to make an impact, and the Tigers would want a handful of prospects to part with him, so who are these interested teams? According to CBS and MLBTraderumors they are:

1

Colorado Rockies

There's more interest than just Colorado just inside this division, but more on that in a second.

2

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have expressed interest in Martinez, and both Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty on the DL it would appear St. Louis is a likely suitor but MLBTradeRumors reports that the asking price is too high for the Cardinals for a rental player like J.D. When those two get healthy Tommy Pham and Dexter folwer will combine for a pretty serviceable four man platoon.

3

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers, where money is no problem for their one quarter of a billion dollar payroll, are another linked team in the rumor mill. Chris Taylor is shifting to the outfield this season and when you add in Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig there might not be room for Martinez in LA.

4

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox were already linked to Miguel Cabrera via Alex Rodriguez, but MLBTradeRumors says the BoSox are among the teams "most interested" in acquiring a right handed bat. Pablo Sandoval has not worked out for the Red Sox and if Boston were to acquire JD, he would most likely serve as a DH due in part to Martinez' below average outfield defense, but more because the current starting set of Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, and Jackie Bradley Jr. is one of the best outfield setups in the majors right now.

5

Arizona Diamondbacks

As previously noted, there's a lot of left handed pitching in the NL West (Kershaw, Bumgarner, Ray, Wood, Corbin, Ryu just as starters) so it's no surprise to see Martinez linked with the three big contenders of the division. While the Dodgers are running away with the division both Colorado and Arizona are in the wild card spots as of this writing. Arizona's current outfield setup could use an upgrade too. David Descalso, AJ Pollock and David Peralta are the current starters. If Peralta or Martinez would agree to a move to left field it is very plausible to see Martinez on the field in the desert.